Shes a beauty VW really outdid there selves with this Jetta.
20081218
2009 Volkswagen Jetta TDI "Green Car of the Year for 2009"
Seeing is believing check out this post on VW.com.
20081217
Diesel's better comes to a close
Throughout the semester I have shown you all several benefits that diesel fuel and diesel vehicles have. I concluded with a few price comparisons that I would really like you to remember the next time your out car shopping. Diesel vehicles may cost a few more dollars in the beginning but you will save money over the life of the car.
I wish I could have given you my last comparison. It was going to be on the maintenance costs of a diesel and a gas vehicle of the same year and make. I didn't get a chance to do a blog post for this but I have been talking about it so here are the hard figures: 2005 gas Jetta 5 year total cost is $25,730.00; the 2005 TDI Jetta's 5 year total cost is $23,592.00; For a total savings of $2,138.00 over a five year period; Once again proving my point with dollars and cents diesel wins hands down.
I hope that I have opened some of your eyes to what diesel fuel and diesel vehicles have to offer. They are both better for us and the environment. They save us money and help keep our air clean. Are you thinking diesel yet? I know I am...
I wish I could have given you my last comparison. It was going to be on the maintenance costs of a diesel and a gas vehicle of the same year and make. I didn't get a chance to do a blog post for this but I have been talking about it so here are the hard figures: 2005 gas Jetta 5 year total cost is $25,730.00; the 2005 TDI Jetta's 5 year total cost is $23,592.00; For a total savings of $2,138.00 over a five year period; Once again proving my point with dollars and cents diesel wins hands down.
I hope that I have opened some of your eyes to what diesel fuel and diesel vehicles have to offer. They are both better for us and the environment. They save us money and help keep our air clean. Are you thinking diesel yet? I know I am...
20081208
Diesel car base price verses Gas car base price
I have heard from several people that they think that diesel vehicles are too expensive. After conducting my research on the subject I agree that they are more expensive than a gas model. I have researched Kelly Blue Book's website to get you an honest comparison. These prices are posted for anyone to view and compair. I used KBB.com because it is a resource that anyone can use to research vehicle prices before they purchase there new vehicle.
The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta 4-door SE Sedan's MSRP price is $21,670.00. Kbb.com also has a feature that showes what consumers are paying for the vehicle and that price is $21,453.00. The specifications for this car are as follows: gas mileage 20 mpg city / 29 mpg highway; engine size 5-Cyl, 2.5 Liter; Automatic Transmission, 6-Spd w/Overdrive & Triptonic; Front wheel drive; 4 door.
The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta 4-door TDI Sedan's MSRP price is $23,740.00. The price consumers are paying option price consumers are paying for the vehicle is $24,215.00. The specifications for this car are as follows: gas mileage 29 mpg city / 40 mpg highway; engine size 4-Cyl Turbo Diesel 2.0 Liter; Automatic Transmission, 6-Spd w/Overdrive & Tiptronic; Front wheel drive; 4 door.
The car I chose to compair was a brand new 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. I chose this vehicle because my brother wants to buy one in the near future and I hope that I killed two birds with one stone.
The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta 4-door SE Sedan's MSRP price is $21,670.00. Kbb.com also has a feature that showes what consumers are paying for the vehicle and that price is $21,453.00. The specifications for this car are as follows: gas mileage 20 mpg city / 29 mpg highway; engine size 5-Cyl, 2.5 Liter; Automatic Transmission, 6-Spd w/Overdrive & Triptonic; Front wheel drive; 4 door.
The 2009 Volkswagen Jetta 4-door TDI Sedan's MSRP price is $23,740.00. The price consumers are paying option price consumers are paying for the vehicle is $24,215.00. The specifications for this car are as follows: gas mileage 29 mpg city / 40 mpg highway; engine size 4-Cyl Turbo Diesel 2.0 Liter; Automatic Transmission, 6-Spd w/Overdrive & Tiptronic; Front wheel drive; 4 door.Basing the price comparison of of the price consumers are paying you will pay $2,762.00 more for the diesel option. So if you purchase this vehicle you will pay more when you buy it. But over the course of a year or two depending on how much you drive by the time you hit 30,000 miles you would have saved over $1,400.00 in fuel savings and an additional $1,400.00 every 10,000 miles after that.
Basically what I'm trying to tell you is that before you turn away from a diesel because it costs a few grand more. Look at the fuel savings in the long run. Pay more now for the vehicle and drive forever for much cheaper than you could drive a gas vehicle.
20081204
Diesel Question and Answer
hello everyone, I have had several people respond to my blog and I have been a little flooded with questions. I am going to answer a few in this post and several others later. A few of your questions like how much maintenance is on a diesel versus a gas vehicle. I will tell you now that a diesel vehicle's maintenance costs are higher but I'm not sure how much higher. If you take care of a diesel you will be driving it for a long time regardless of how far you drive daily.
About my previous post concerning the sizes of the engine they were both eight cylinder engines. One was a a 6.0L and the other was a 6.4L. This just means that one engine was a little bit bigger than the other. The Ford diesel has a 7.3L that is much bigger than Chevy's 6.4L but surprisingly the Chevy has more stock horsepower. Its not the size of the engine but how its engineered.
To answer another question that I was given pertaining to when diesel engines and gas engines were invented. Ok you got me the gas engine was created first. Rudolf Diesel created the diesel engine in 1898. At least that is when he got it patented. I'm sure that he had this engine built around 1893 because he published a paper describing how his invention worked. We still are using Rudlolf Diesel's idea today in every diesel engine out there. His idea was that the diesel fuel and air combined withing the cylinder, then pressurized to ignite and power the engine rather than be mixed with air pressure and ignited by a spark plug. This invention changed the way that everyone looked at engines and resulted in several uses throughout the years. You can find a diesel engine in submarines, ships, trains, tractors, large trucks, cars and in electric generating plants.
I hope that I answered some of your questions and hope that I can get to all of them before the end of class. If I don't feel, free to research for yourself all it takes is a little time, the Internet and google. Check back soon for my comparison of maintenance costs of owning a diesel vehicle versus a gas vehicle.
Works cited:
Bellis, Mary. "Rudolf Diesel - Inventor of the Diesel Engine Rudolf Diesel." about.com. 1997. Diesel . 4 Dec 2008.
About my previous post concerning the sizes of the engine they were both eight cylinder engines. One was a a 6.0L and the other was a 6.4L. This just means that one engine was a little bit bigger than the other. The Ford diesel has a 7.3L that is much bigger than Chevy's 6.4L but surprisingly the Chevy has more stock horsepower. Its not the size of the engine but how its engineered.
To answer another question that I was given pertaining to when diesel engines and gas engines were invented. Ok you got me the gas engine was created first. Rudolf Diesel created the diesel engine in 1898. At least that is when he got it patented. I'm sure that he had this engine built around 1893 because he published a paper describing how his invention worked. We still are using Rudlolf Diesel's idea today in every diesel engine out there. His idea was that the diesel fuel and air combined withing the cylinder, then pressurized to ignite and power the engine rather than be mixed with air pressure and ignited by a spark plug. This invention changed the way that everyone looked at engines and resulted in several uses throughout the years. You can find a diesel engine in submarines, ships, trains, tractors, large trucks, cars and in electric generating plants.
I hope that I answered some of your questions and hope that I can get to all of them before the end of class. If I don't feel, free to research for yourself all it takes is a little time, the Internet and google. Check back soon for my comparison of maintenance costs of owning a diesel vehicle versus a gas vehicle.
Works cited:
Bellis, Mary. "Rudolf Diesel - Inventor of the Diesel Engine Rudolf Diesel." about.com. 1997. Diesel . 4 Dec 2008
20081124
Diesel truck verses Gas truck comparison
So I wanted to do a comparison for you on a gas truck vs. a diesel truck but these guys beat me too it. Of course the numbers are much smaller when talking about a truck because they are not used for commuting they are used for work. Towing, hauling and anything else you throw at them trucks will do it for you. The comparison below was taking off a website I found when I was working on my previous piece and I found the information very pleasing and wanted to share it.
Assuming the pump price of gas and diesel were the same, a diesel could save you $1500 or more in fuel costs per 100,000 miles of light duty driving and/or up to $2500 or more when doing a lot of towing or other high power demand driving, when compared to a gasoline powered truck with identical gearing. (These costs comparisons represent the estimated differences in fuel economy between a Duramax 6600 and a 6.0L fuel injected gasoline engine. When compared to a gasoline 8.1L, the diesel will save you even more.)Copyright © 1996-2008 by The Diesel Page
We all know that the price of diesel and the price of gas are not the same but this comparison still makes my point. A identical vehicle with a diesel option has better fuel economy that the gas option as well as the laundry list of other advantages. More power from the factory and a all around tougher truck.
Works cited:
"Diesel Economics & Fuel Economy." thedieselpage.com. 14 June 2008. Diesel . 24 Nov 2008 .
Gas cost per mile verses Diesel cost per mile
So I think it is time to change all your minds about diesel and that huge number that you see by the price of diesel. I have called a local gas station that offered regular gas, diesel and biodiesel. The prices are as follows regular gas $1.79 per gallon, diesel $2.68 per gallon, and biodiesel $2.78 per gallon. These prices were provided by Woodfin Watchard at 4511 Pouncy Tract Road Richmond, VA.
Now were looking at almost a whole dollar more price per gallon gas vs. diesel and an additional 10 cents for the biodiesel. But when I crunched some numbers I was pleased to find that even though you pay more at the pump for diesel you save money in the long run. I did my comparison strictly off the price of fuel and did not add in maintenance costs.
I used a single car for my comparison and got the base miles per gallon from fueleconemy.gov. The car I chose to do my comparison on was a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta the gas model was a 2.0L 4 cylinder automatic and the diesel was a 1.9L 4 cylinder automatic. The gas model had a fuel economy of 28 MPG. The diesel model had a fuel economy of 38 MPG. Both of these MPG ratings are for stock vehicles rite off the showroom floor with no performance upgrades.
Here's my formula I took the cost of gas and divided it by the miles per gallon to get the price per mile we drive. Then I took that number and multiplied it by 10,000 miles which is what USAA insurance company considers a year of regular driving.
Number don't lie...
$1.79 / 28 MPG = $.1564 cents a mile multiplied by 10000 = $15,640.00 per year for the Gas
$2.68 / 38 MPG = $.1417 cents a mile multiplied by 10000 = $14,170.00 per year for the Diesel
Then you subtract the Gas year total by the Diesel year total to get the difference of $1,470.00 savings in the first 10,000 miles driven with the diesel. I don't know about you but that is a lot of money to me and numbers don't lie. Look at the numbers, use my equation and do some research for yourself. You may want to think diesel the next time you purchase a vehicle.
Now were looking at almost a whole dollar more price per gallon gas vs. diesel and an additional 10 cents for the biodiesel. But when I crunched some numbers I was pleased to find that even though you pay more at the pump for diesel you save money in the long run. I did my comparison strictly off the price of fuel and did not add in maintenance costs.
I used a single car for my comparison and got the base miles per gallon from fueleconemy.gov. The car I chose to do my comparison on was a 2005 Volkswagen Jetta the gas model was a 2.0L 4 cylinder automatic and the diesel was a 1.9L 4 cylinder automatic. The gas model had a fuel economy of 28 MPG. The diesel model had a fuel economy of 38 MPG. Both of these MPG ratings are for stock vehicles rite off the showroom floor with no performance upgrades.
Here's my formula I took the cost of gas and divided it by the miles per gallon to get the price per mile we drive. Then I took that number and multiplied it by 10,000 miles which is what USAA insurance company considers a year of regular driving.
Number don't lie...
$1.79 / 28 MPG = $.1564 cents a mile multiplied by 10000 = $15,640.00 per year for the Gas
$2.68 / 38 MPG = $.1417 cents a mile multiplied by 10000 = $14,170.00 per year for the Diesel
Then you subtract the Gas year total by the Diesel year total to get the difference of $1,470.00 savings in the first 10,000 miles driven with the diesel. I don't know about you but that is a lot of money to me and numbers don't lie. Look at the numbers, use my equation and do some research for yourself. You may want to think diesel the next time you purchase a vehicle.
20081116
Biodiesel Engine conversion do you need it???
The answer to that question is NO! I have done extensive research and there are several costly products out there that add all these fancy gizmo's to your car to make it safe to run biodiesel (Melendez). As with any performance upgrade or anything that goes on with your vehicle check with your mechanic before you do anything. They know your vehicle. There is one thing that needs to be taken away from this post. Whether you run gasoline, diesel, or biodiesel you cannot fail to do your vehicles preventative maintenance. When you use biodiesel there is the risk that deposits can build up in your engines fuel system. But if you buy biodiesel that is manufactured from a company it was done correctly and has been cleared by the EPA for use in vehicles in the US.
If you are making your own biodiesel you have to make sure that you are making it correctly. Biodiesel is not just simply cleaned and filtered used oil. It is actually super clean oil and a few additives that combine to make the fuel ready for use in vehicles. When you purchase a biodiesel kit like the one I previewed in my previous post it comes with complete instructions. I do not have a biodiesel kit so cannot claim to know everything about biodiesel. Below are a few very helpful sites I found that can help you if you are ready to help the environment and go green.
If you still are interested in doing a biodiesel conversion or putting a biodiesel engine check out these the sites below I am just noting a few and you will have to do extensive research to see which of these is rite for your vehicle. I have searched for VW because our favorite teacher drives a TDI jetta. You can convert your TDI for $775.00 plus the cost of the installation.
Works cited:
Melendez, John. "The Scam on Biodiesel Engine Conversions." Associated Content. 13 FEB 2008. biomedical and environmental . 20 Nov 2008.
If you are making your own biodiesel you have to make sure that you are making it correctly. Biodiesel is not just simply cleaned and filtered used oil. It is actually super clean oil and a few additives that combine to make the fuel ready for use in vehicles. When you purchase a biodiesel kit like the one I previewed in my previous post it comes with complete instructions. I do not have a biodiesel kit so cannot claim to know everything about biodiesel. Below are a few very helpful sites I found that can help you if you are ready to help the environment and go green.
If you still are interested in doing a biodiesel conversion or putting a biodiesel engine check out these the sites below I am just noting a few and you will have to do extensive research to see which of these is rite for your vehicle. I have searched for VW because our favorite teacher drives a TDI jetta. You can convert your TDI for $775.00 plus the cost of the installation.
Works cited:
Melendez, John. "The Scam on Biodiesel Engine Conversions." Associated Content. 13 FEB 2008. biomedical and environmental . 20 Nov 2008
Biodiesel
Ok guys I am going to start if a brief introduction to biodiesel. What is biodiesel? Biodiesel is an alternate fuel composed of used cooking oil that has been filtered several times. Only vehicles that have had biodiesel conversions or have special biodiesel engines can run on biodiesel. You can purchase a pre made biodiesel engine that will be a direct replacement for your stock engine. Your second option is buying a conversion kit that comes with complete directions. After you install one of these two options you can run biodiesel.
People often call biodiesel vehicles greasers because of the fuel is made from cooking oil, grease, lard, ect. Most restaurants will give you as much cooking oil as you want because they have to pay to have it disposed of. I know when I worked in the food service industry we had a 55 gallon barrel that got about 10 to 20 gallons added a week. If you could find a few restaurants that would let you have there used oil you could run your vehicle solely off biodiesel.
A good point that I want to make is this. If your running on biodiesel and are running low on fuel you can put regular diesel fuel in your car. It actually is good for your vehicle because it helps to clean out your fuel tank.
What you need to convert your diesel to biodiesel is a conversion kit you can buy these at several places off the Internet the one that I am using is Freedom Fueler Biodiesel Processor. It costs around $2800.00. Which is a one time cost. After you buy this processor all you have to replace is a few filters for maintenance. This kit can process 160 gallons of biodiesel at a time. Now it is kind of large so you would need somewhere to store it. See the picture below.
In my next post I will discuss costs and the process of converting your diesel engine to burn biodiesel. Check back soon...
20081113
My favorite Blog
Ok guys so it was super hard to find someone who shared my interests in Diesel vehicles. But I found these guys and they are awesome. Autoblog.com is a huge wesite dedicated to bloging on the automotive industry and they have tones of information on the entire industry. Whatever questions you have about any type of vehicle you can find something on this site. This site has thousands of followers.I searched for diesel and found several different blogs. I mean everything you could possibly think of. I was looking for the new Ford F150 Diesel and boy did I find it. I am very interested in the new 4.4L Ford diesel engine for the F150 because I have a 2007 gas F150 and would love to do a diesel conversion. This is my favorite blog that I found on this site so far. When you check it out you can tell why I'm so excited about the 4.4L diesel and what the good news was given inside this blog.
Alright so if you didn't figure out why I'm so excited about this blog. Its simply because they said the new diesel F150 engine will be coming out next year, it has better fuel economy than the 5.4L gas engine and on top of that it has tones more power. That's what I'm talking about I cant wait to drop one in my pickup.
One of the cool things about this website is that it is updated daily. Some of these posts literally happen as soon as an event is over. This is so vital to people like myself who cannot go to a lot of these shows in Europe. I'm not sure if many of us will but it is awesome to get the info from a reliable source in a timely manor. Check back soon for more great diesel info.
20081111
Hybrid sales verses Diesel sales in the US
So I commute from Richmond, VA to Ft. Belvoir, VA on a daily basis. I have made it a point to look at the cars around me just to see what types of vehicles are out there. Of course I see more gas burning cars than anything else but I have seen an ever growing amount of hybrids and diesel vehicles.
I was very curious to actually see which type of clean burning or high efficiency vehicle was outselling the other and was very pleased when I saw that diesel vehicles are actually higher than hybrid vehicle sales. Quoted below from Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)
"It is absolutely appropriate to name 2008 the year of breakthrough for clean diesel in the United States. Beware and do not misinterpret the market share of only 3 percent, which is indeed still low. It is just an indication of the calm before the storm and is driven primarily by model cycles. According to J.D. Power projections, the percentage of diesel vehicles in the total number of new vehicle registrations in the U.S. will multiply to 15 percent by 2015 - and the German brands will land in the top rankings." Last year, diesel cars still outperformed hybrid models in light vehicle sales at the rate of 480,000 versus 350,000 units.
Check back soon for more diesel facts and statistics. Coming soon the number one best selling diesel vehicle in the US.
I was very curious to actually see which type of clean burning or high efficiency vehicle was outselling the other and was very pleased when I saw that diesel vehicles are actually higher than hybrid vehicle sales. Quoted below from Matthias Wissmann, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA)
"It is absolutely appropriate to name 2008 the year of breakthrough for clean diesel in the United States. Beware and do not misinterpret the market share of only 3 percent, which is indeed still low. It is just an indication of the calm before the storm and is driven primarily by model cycles. According to J.D. Power projections, the percentage of diesel vehicles in the total number of new vehicle registrations in the U.S. will multiply to 15 percent by 2015 - and the German brands will land in the top rankings." Last year, diesel cars still outperformed hybrid models in light vehicle sales at the rate of 480,000 versus 350,000 units.
Check back soon for more diesel facts and statistics. Coming soon the number one best selling diesel vehicle in the US.
20081109
Efficiency explained and intro to diesel miles per gallon
The big question today with the on going fuel crisis is how to get better fuel economy. Well to truly understand why a diesel engine is better, your going to have to know how it works mechanically.
Most people know how a gas job works, by gas job I mean a gasoline engine. A gas engine has a fuel rail that distributes fuel to the firing chamber and a spark plug ignites the fuel, but the more you push the pedal, the more fuel is put into the engine and the injectors speed up and put more fuel into the engine. When the throttle plate is wide open the right chemical reaction takes place.
Now on to more important things, a diesel engine fuel system is almost like a gasoline engine, but there is no restriction of air. The whole concept of the engine is to force as much air as possible into the engine. The fuel is put in to the firing chamber at a very high pressure most commonly around 35,000pis; when the air and fuel come together it ignites on contact. There are no spark plugs needed, which results in a smaller amout of fuel needed to operate.
To conclude this post, the average diesel veichle gets 50 mpg and the average gasoline vehicle gets 30 mph. The most important thing to know when it comes to diesel miles per gallon and fuel economy is that the more performance upgrades you add to your vehicle the better fuel economy you get. Check back soon for more info on diesel performance and comparisons.
Most people know how a gas job works, by gas job I mean a gasoline engine. A gas engine has a fuel rail that distributes fuel to the firing chamber and a spark plug ignites the fuel, but the more you push the pedal, the more fuel is put into the engine and the injectors speed up and put more fuel into the engine. When the throttle plate is wide open the right chemical reaction takes place.
Now on to more important things, a diesel engine fuel system is almost like a gasoline engine, but there is no restriction of air. The whole concept of the engine is to force as much air as possible into the engine. The fuel is put in to the firing chamber at a very high pressure most commonly around 35,000pis; when the air and fuel come together it ignites on contact. There are no spark plugs needed, which results in a smaller amout of fuel needed to operate.
To conclude this post, the average diesel veichle gets 50 mpg and the average gasoline vehicle gets 30 mph. The most important thing to know when it comes to diesel miles per gallon and fuel economy is that the more performance upgrades you add to your vehicle the better fuel economy you get. Check back soon for more info on diesel performance and comparisons.
20081028
Why and how Diesel fuel burns more efficiently than Gas
Diesel engines are much more efficient than gas engines. There are a few reasons that they are more efficient. The first reason diesel engines burn fuel more efficiently is because of the way that the fuel is delivered.
Most gas engines get there fuel one of two ways. In older vehicles the engine has a carburetor which sits on top of the intake manifold and regulates the amount of gas that is going to your engine. In newer vehicles the gas is delivered by electronic fuel injection which basically shoots gas into the top of the injectors. Both ways work but are not as efficient as the Diesel engines delivery method.
In Diesel engines the fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber. The way the fuel is ignited is the key difference. In a Diesel engine the piston compresses the air then the diesel fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber and ignites. In gas engines the fuel is mixed with air then compressed and ignited by spark plugs. The method of delivery is the key reason that diesel fuel burns more efficiently than gas.
This is my first post of many informative posts on Diesel engines, Diesel fuel, and Diesel Vehicles check back soon for more great diesel info. Most of the information in this post can be found on this site http://auto.howstuffworks.com/diesel1.htm
Most gas engines get there fuel one of two ways. In older vehicles the engine has a carburetor which sits on top of the intake manifold and regulates the amount of gas that is going to your engine. In newer vehicles the gas is delivered by electronic fuel injection which basically shoots gas into the top of the injectors. Both ways work but are not as efficient as the Diesel engines delivery method.
In Diesel engines the fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber. The way the fuel is ignited is the key difference. In a Diesel engine the piston compresses the air then the diesel fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber and ignites. In gas engines the fuel is mixed with air then compressed and ignited by spark plugs. The method of delivery is the key reason that diesel fuel burns more efficiently than gas.
This is my first post of many informative posts on Diesel engines, Diesel fuel, and Diesel Vehicles check back soon for more great diesel info. Most of the information in this post can be found on this site http://auto.howstuffworks.com/diesel1.htm
20081023
Intro
Hello everyone, my name is Ryan, but my friends call me Ryno. I am 23 years old. I was born in Charlottesville Virginia at Martha Jefferson Hospital on March 15th 1985. I have brown hair, Hazel eyes, I think I'm pretty tall 6' 1", 195 pounds with an athletic build. I'm from Fluvanna county but presently live in Chesterfield Virginia. I am active duty military with the Virginia Army National Guard. I am a homeowner, big brother to 3 younger brothers, boyfriend, son and a staff sergeant. I am all of these things everyday. I dont have many hobbies but i am an avid hunter. From the 1st of November to the 1st of January don't look for me on Saturdays and Mondays because I'm in the woods. I also enjoy fishing, watching movies, hanging out with my family and friends and anything else that is fun. I work hard and I play hard. That's me in a nutshell.
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